It was a tough choice, but we ultimately selected the Delaware County Invitational as our Meet of the Week. This meet features all of the Delaware County area schools, including the four Olentangy schools, Delaware Hayes, and Big Walnut as the most notable teams. The day will kick off with the 4x800, which should feature some quality competition. On the girls’ side, two teams—Olentangy Liberty and Big Walnut—are seeded under 10 minutes, and it appears these could be their A-teams. On the boys’ side, expectations are lower, although we’ve heard this relay will decide the final two spots on Olentangy Liberty’s 4x800 squad. With Zee Rabi and Aadi Joshi already locked in, Louie Perry, Sam Brockbank, and Jacob Ogilbee will be fighting to split the fastest and earn a spot.

In the girls’ 1600, we don’t anticipate much competition for first place. The top two seeds are Brooke Chapman at 4:52 and Bella Conforti at 5:03. If the race is set up well, Chapman could improve on her already blistering time. The boys’ race should be much tighter, with several legitimate contenders. Bradyn Allender and Austyn Fox are both seeded at 4:26, while Aidan Green, Vansh Sethi, and Sahil Khandari are all seeded above 4:30—but we expect them to run faster based on their other performances this season. Sam Brockbank is also seeded at 4:26, but may struggle to compete after running the 4x800 a few events earlier.

Both the girls’ and boys’ 800-meter races are shaping up to be the most competitive events at this meet. On the girls’ side, six athletes are seeded under 2:30: Grace Heitkamp, Leighton Coey, Bridget Snider, Evelyn Joseph, Hannah Spires, and Grace Buskirk. This race feels wide open, but I’ll give the edge to future Dayton Flyer Grace Heitkamp, who has the fastest seed time. The boys’ 800 should be especially exciting, with many of the top distance runners competing. I expect at least the top six finishers to break 2:00, with the top three pushing to break 1:55. Matthew Schroff is still my pick to win, but Zee Rabi and Ty Munroe will challenge him, and Aadi Joshi won’t be far behind. I also expect both Dylan Willis and Braydon Nix to be in the mix and likely to PR.

Things will slow down a bit in the 3200, but the event still features some notable competitors. On the girls’ side, Elena Wanek, McKinley Newcomer, Georgia Speelman, and Cecelia Pachko are all seeded under 12 minutes. Wanek gets the nod as the favorite, given her strong season so far. In the boys’ 3200, look for a battle between Sam Perez, Louie Perry, Nathan Ward, and Sid Sivakumar. The Liberty duo is favored, but with Perry coming off a tough 800 earlier in the day, I’m picking Sam Perez to come out on top.